Creating a Virtual George School

As teachers and students begin to use the school’s online classroom platform, George School is enhancing community and student support at the start of online academic programming.

Gatherings
Gatherings are daily check-in groups (and other meetings as needed) designed to keep the small-group connection points of a George School education thriving. The gatherings bring together pre-existing advisory groups, which allows people to maintain existing connections while making new ones. Read about a virtual birthday celebration.

Virtual Meetinghouse
When students are seeking a dose of spiritual nurture, or respite from the turbulence of the world, they can come to the Virtual Meetinghouse. Rather than walking down Meetinghouse Hill, students can enter a new sacred space located on the internal platform used by the George School community. There they will find a newly created 360 degree view of the interior, and resources offered to help students feel more centered, more whole, and more connected.

Online Counseling
The school’s counseling services program is now operating online, with daily drop-in hours. Mindful that many students face time-zone issues, appointments outside of the drop-in hours can be made as well. Students can communicate with counselors by audio, video, or chat.

Educators Diving In
Teachers are excited by the opportunity to not only bring lessons online, but in many cases to use the new platforms to enhance the learning experience for students. Here’s an example of one teacher’s approach.

Student Newspaper
When the staff of the student newspaper learned that George School would be moving its academic program online, they responded by bringing Curious George to an internal online platform, in order to foster community and connection and keep their work vital.

Daily Bulletin
Mindful that so much new information would be directed at students and teachers alike, members of the George School administration put together a new publication, the Daily Bulletin, delivered electronically every morning to a channel on the school’s internal platform. Two versions are designed each day – one for students, and one for faculty and staff.